News

Bargaining Update

March 22, 2018

Frontier Communications

CWA members at Frontier Communications in West Virginia and Ashburn, Va., have been out on strike since March 4, and the workers are standing strong in their fight to keep good jobs in their communities.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail featured an op-ed by Frontier worker Elisha Edgell of Princeton, W. Va. "We have 1,400 people out on these streets on strike because they want to work here, they want to be here, and they want to continue to be your neighbors and friends in your community," Edgell wrote.

An ad running on radio stations across West Virginia and shared by workers on Facebook explains how Frontier's failure to maintain and update its network and its job cuts are holding back progress in the state.

Frontier workers at many other locations across the country held informational picketing to show their support for the West Virginia and Virginia workers on strike, and to show the company that all CWA Frontier workers are ready to stand together to protect jobs.

Frontier workers across the country are standing strong in their fight to keep good jobs in their communities.

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Piedmont Airlines

Passenger service agents took action on March 19 at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport to demand respect, fairness, and an end to poverty wages at Piedmont Airlines, a subsidiary of American Airlines. More than 120 people turned out including Piedmont gate agents from Boston, Phoenix, Huntsville, San Antonio, Richmond, and Charlotte.

Piedmont agents have been bargaining for a new contract since February 2017. Despite American Airlines posting a $1.9 billion profit in 2017, many Piedmont agents are paid wages so low that they're forced to rely on food stamps and other forms of public assistance. CWA and the company recently requested that the National Mediation Board oversee negotiations.

Passenger service agents are demanding respect, fairness, and an end to poverty wages at Piedmont Airlines.

CWA has opened negotiations with the State of New Jersey for more than 32,000 state employees. CWA members and Governor Murphy's administration are currently bargaining to resolve legal, contractual, and retroactive matters back to the July 2015 expiration of the New Jersey State Executive Branch contract.

At stake are across-the-board wage increases and restoring withheld salary increments — annual raises state workers receive when they reach an annual milestone in state service. Former Governor Christie illegally withheld state workers their pay increments after contract expiration, a move that CWA legally challenged. Demands to gut respect and dignity language, due process protections, overtime and leave rights, layoff and job security rights, and other rollbacks Christie wanted were rejected by the CWA bargaining committee last year.

CWA recognizes and appreciates the patience and solidarity of our members as the bargaining committee works diligently to reach an agreement.